Leila de Lima acquitted again in drug case after Court of Appeals decision

Former senator Leila de Lima has been acquitted of her drug charge by the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court. This decision comes after the Court of Appeals remanded her case to the lower court. De Lima and Ronnie Palisoc Dayan were acquitted due to reasonable doubt in their case filed under former president Rodrigo Duterte's term.

In May, the Court of Appeals voided the previous decision that acquitted De Lima and Dayan in 2023 and ordered the case to be remanded to the RTC. De Lima's acquittal in all three drug cases during Duterte's term remains in effect.

De Lima, who won as Mamamayang Liberal's 1st nominee in 2025, will be part of the House's prosecution team for Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. The court acquitted De Lima and Dayan due to reasonable doubt, as the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy between them and direct participants of the illegal drug trade.

The court emphasized that the recantation of the star witness, Rafael Ragos, created reasonable doubt, leading to the acquittal of De Lima and Dayan. Judge Alcantara stated that the original decision already established reasonable doubt based on Ragos' recantation.